Angela Craddock's death not blamed on public body errors

Angela Craddock was described as "intelligent, artistic and compassionate" by her family

Errors were made by public bodies prior to the murder of a woman by her abusive partner but this did not contribute to her death, a jury has found.

Angela Craddock, 40, was attacked by William Smart in her own home in Warrington, Cheshire, on 10 April 2018.

An inquest into her death at Warrington Coroner's Court heard how there was a history of domestic violence against Ms Craddock perpetrated by Smart.

The jury unanimously found that she had been unlawfully killed.

"Angela Craddock and the offender both had extensive interactions with public services over the course of their lives," the foreman of the jury said.

"Though the services worked in good faith to manage risk, delays and miscommunication have occurred.

"Regardless of these delays, we find accountability for the unlawful killing of Angela Craddock lies solely with the offender."

The inquest heard how Ms Craddock was "brutally beaten" at her property on St Elphin's Close.

She was taken to Warrington Hospital where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

Her medical cause of death was listed as "multiple blunt force head injuries".

William Smart was found guilty of murder after an eight-day trial

The inquest heard how Smart had received a six-month sentence on 19 February 2018 for an assault on Ms Craddock and possession of a bladed weapon.

A restraining order was imposed at the sentencing hearing but it "did not achieve its purpose" as Smart was able to contact Ms Craddock from prison, the foreman said.

Smart was released from HMP Altcourse on licence on 3 April but he was recalled to prison on 6 April after failing to attend his probation appointment.

Four days later, Smart murdered Ms Craddock by repeatedly kicking and punching her.

He was found guilty of her murder following a trial in October 2018 and was ordered to serve life with a minimum term of 19 years.

'Unimaginable pain'

Jacqueline Devonish, senior coroner, said Ms Craddock's death was "brutal" and the "suffering brought to bear upon her family was painful to contemplate".

"They will never get to see her or hear her voice again," she said.

"The family has suffered unimaginable pain."

She added throughout the evidence, she had listened for areas that "could have been better and which may save lives in the future".

"The jury has found that the public bodies made errors and there was miscommunication but that they did their best, and did not cause or contribute to this sad outcome," she said.

However, she said she would be writing a prevention of future death report to HMP Altcourse after the paper form regarding the restraining order failed to reach the necessary prison department.

Therefore, no-one was aware that the restraining order was being breached from prison, she said.

"This death occurred in 2018 and processes are likely to have moved on digitally since then to prevent such future occurrence, but there has been no evidence from the prison before the inquest, so the position remains unknown," she said.

She added that Cheshire Police had given evidence about the changes it had made to improve the prison recall process since Ms Craddock's death.

"Angela Craddock had no protection under the old system but protection is now in place for victims of domestic abuse," she said.

She added she hoped "this learning will be of some limited comfort to the family" as she thanked them for their "significant input" into the inquest, which enabled "a full and fearless investigation".

In a statement Cheshire Police said it would review the finding of the coroner's court "for any further learning".

"Violence against women and girls is a priority for the force and we have put a number of safeguarding plans in place for vulnerable women and men who are subjected to domestic abuse, whatever form that takes," the statement said.

"Our focus on bringing offenders to justice and protecting the public is in our utmost thoughts when we are faced with domestic abuse and understand the impact it has on families who are affected. We work with partners to support and protect."

The Ministry of Justice has been approached by the BBC for comment.

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